Media Solution – July 8, 2016

Congrats on the new EP, ‘The Prelude!’ And how exciting to have your video, “Destroy Something Beautiful” premier on Revolver!

(Benny) Thank you, means a lot to us all. The creative process is always a fun and awesome to work with a killer director! the best part is the anticipation up to the final cut, and watching all your hard work (20 hour day) made into a 3 minute musical story!

Can we talk about the video for “Destroy Something Beautiful?” As a woman, I’m very grateful that you approached this as she was an equal and she was giving as good as she took. I loved that she took the first hit and won. However, this video was very hard to watch as a victim of Domestic Violence, especially when he helps her up and then hits her. Have you had many expressing concern about the message of violence to women ?

(Robb) Personally, I’m against violence, especially when its used against the defenseless. But I choose to look at the video as a person being able to hold their own in a fight when the odds are against them. Take away what you want from the video, but as long as it sparks emotions and makes you think, then we’ve done our job.

(Jay) No, actually you’re the first to address this point. As much as we are against domestic violence in general, it was never our intention to bring back horrible memories from the past. The video was meant to empower people in general as well as women. No matter the odds stacked against you, you can push through & persevere.

Can you please tell me a bit about what your vision was behind the song and video, what message were you trying to get out?

(Robb)The message behind the song could be interpreted many ways, but it’s simply taking something beautiful and destroying it. As far as the idea behind the video, we went with the vision that Nathan (director) envisioned when he heard the song. But as stated before, the video was intended to spark emotions and get the viewer to think.

I haven’t had a chance to listen to the other songs on ‘The Prelude” but I love “Destroy Something Beautiful” and have been listening to it over and over again while writing this. Can you tell me a bit about the other songs ?

(Robb) The themes vary from song to song. Destroy Something Beautiful is about taking what is naturally beautiful and making it about a social status or for profit. Coward straight calls out the immature behaviors of insecure men who revert to violence to resolve life’s issues. Enjoy The Ride, a call it like we see it observationon the decline on the value of life and Stand My Ground, that addresses the issue that we’re told what to buy, believe and do, and depicts the sadder side of life while expresses the need for freedom.

(Benny)…. “we are the kings”, is about bandmates and they’re quest and staying strong, not giving up nor surrendering and kicking ass to the top!!

Which song means the most to you guys off ‘The Prelude?’

(Andy) I would say Destroy Something Beautiful, because is the first song where I wrote the entire music by myself and after that we put Rob’s words and came out a great song!!

(Robb) For me, all of the songs on “The Prelude” trigger different emotions. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a song like Turmoil where you just want to live fast and get out aggression. Sometimes I’m into the dark side of reality and love the song Coward. But the song Stand My Ground is my go-to favorite off “The Prelude”.

(Jay) for me, it’s DSB. This song is the message I’ve been closest to for many years. Our focus as a people has gone the wrong direction for too long & this is the time to stop being told what to do & when & how to do it. Think & act for yourself.

What does the writing process look like for you guys ? Are you constantly writing on the road, taking notes, ect? Or does the majority of the process happen in the studio ?

(Robb) When we write, we basically spit out ideas for songs that we may have and give it a basic format. Then once lyrics are ready to be dropped in, we do a little reformatting to make sure that everything fits and sounds good. Then when we record it, Ulrich Wild (producer) will put his two cents in and make all the adjustments that he thinks would improve it.

(Jay) writing is a constant, no matter where we are, it can’t be forced. Whether it’s a simple riff or idea recorded into a cel phone & based out later or just being in the zone with the chemistry flowing just right & knocking out a new song in a short time ready to lay down the tracks.

(Benny) we’ve recently started writing, right now were goin through ideas in rehearsal. were trying to keep our writing process as simple as possible in our practice room, just 5 guys. hot summer, crank it up and just riff away till someone sais, ” im getting sick .. can we go eat?”!! then come back and jam some more!

Can you please share how and why the name Media Solution came to be ?

(Andy) I created this name when I was still living in Italy. The idea of it, was to try to explain with our music what there is behind the mass media…all the lies that we hear every day on TV or we hear at the radio or even what we read on the newspapers. So basically we wanted to be the solution to the mass media.

If we took a look at your play list, what would we find on it ?

(Andy) A lot! Ahaha…definitely the mighty Slayer, Kiss, Sepultura, Deftones, Skindred, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and the list is still long .

(Robb) I’m assuming you’re asking what we listen to in the car –

I’ve got several playlists for different moods. If I’m in a road rage mood, I tend to listen to my Hard Rock playlist with artists like Lamb Of God, Snot, Deftones. If I’m trying to relax after a show, I will listen to artists like Massive Attack, Tricky, Sneaker Pimps. And if I’m just hanging out around the house, it’s all about Clutch, Gluecifer, and Volbeat.

(Jay) lots! Metal, hip hop, punk, jazz…..you name it! My true love is for Rock & Metal but as an artist, I appreciate so many different genres. Different aspects give you different out looks toward new music. That’s how we’ve evolved over our lives

(Benny) i do James brown, Elvis, to Black Sabbath and mötley crüe, and judas priest..i love good music

(Robb) I don’t know if the fans would be surprised, but I listen to a lot of instrumental soundtracks. I really love the Dust Brother’s soundtrack for Fight Club and will listen to it from beginning to end at least once a week.

(Jay) surprising? Brittany Spears………..ya, I know,right?!

(Benny) probably Buddy Rich big Band… if they even know who he is! ahah

What is one of your favorite songs to perform live and why ?

(Robb) I like performing Coward live. It’s a breath of fresh air when we slow it down and people actually listen to the words. When we play it live, I will usually get a couple people that will stick around after the set to tell me how awesome it is that we address the topics that we do in that song.

(Jay) only one? They’re all our favorites! That’s why we play them live. If I had to pick one, it’s DSB. Good song, good message & the energy on stage & with the crowd is always good time

If I did my math right, you have called America home for the last 9 years? What was one of the hardest things to get used to in America ?

(Andy) Nope, 6 years… I moved to LA in January 2011. Beside the language it was the life style!! Here in LA I’m always super busy, I have always something to do…when I was living in Italy my days were really slow…one of the reason is because here in LA there is a lot of traffic and I get stuck all the time ahahah.

Besides family, what is one thing you miss about Italy – food wise and how do you go about fixing that craving?

(Andy) Family is for sure the most important thing that I miss and friends…food wise? My mom kitchen ahahah…but fortunately I like to cook so I can make almost any recipe I want and plus there is my wife that loves to cook.

Will you guys be going on tour this summer to promote your EP? If so, when will the dates be announced and I sure hope there are some Michigan dates!

(Andy) Yes, we will start with a few one off shows and then in September we will start a full US tour for a month…around the end of September we will play in Grand Rapids and Flint, is it ok??!! All the dates will be announced this week.

What does the rest of 2016 look like for Media Solution?

(Jay) the big portion of this year is touring for sure. Live shows is why we do this. Creating music & a message & performing it for the fans is the best part of the gig, especially when you can see their eyes from the stage & they are really getting into it. After that we will finish up the rest of the new songs & hop back into the studio to bring more good stuff to our fans.